A wildcard entrant to an International Tennis Federation (ITF) professional event has gone viral after a performance which saw her win just three points and roundly mocked as one of the worst tennis players of all time.
Hajar Abdelkader lasted just 37 minutes against Germany’s Lorena Schaedel as she fell to defeat 6-0, 6-0, winning just three points in her ITF W35 first-round match in Nairobi.
Those came courtesy of two double faults from her counterpart and a wild unforced error, with the 21-year-old Egyptian cutting an irregular figure on the dusty clay court in Kenya.
Dressed in a black t-shirt and leggings, amid humid temperatures of the high-twenties – compared to the more orthodox kit of her opponent – Abdelkader wafted serves high in the air which more often than not missed their mark.
In total, the player made 20 double faults in her straight-sets defeat, and at times appeared to be unclear where to stand when serving.
When she did manage to make her return of Schaedel’s serve, her efforts seemed destined to land on her side of the court.
Abdelkader did finally claim one point off her own racquet in the second set, when her return made it back to the world No 1026, who then overcooked her forehand response out to the tramlines for 40-15.
The player’s grip on the racquet itself at times seemed uneasy, with Abdelkader accruing a measly first-serve percentage of 8.3 per cent.
As per Abdelkader’s player ITF player page, she has been playing tennis since the age of 14, but Wednesday’s match represented her first tour-level match.
Questions have subsequently been raised about how Abdelkader came to play in the competition.
The ITF World Tennis Tour is the lowest of the three tiers of competitive tours for professional players, behind the WTA and ATP tours at the top of the table, and the Challengers Tours.
But W35 events – who offer the second-lowest amount of prize money – still come with sizeable financial reward, with £22,000 ($25,000) available to the tournament winner as well as ranking points.
Tennis’ ethics body, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) strictly prohibits the sale of wildcards at all three levels of tour tennis.
Section D.1.k of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program states that no person bound by ITIA guidelines including players and tournament organisers ‘shall, directly or indirectly, offer, pay or accept money, benefit or Consideration for the provision of a wildcard to an Event’.
Wildcards are instead designed to be offered to promising regional players who might not otherwise have made the draw.
Daily Mail Sport has contacted the Nairobi W35 tournament director for comment.
